Unforseen
by Dannrose
Summary: The next Avatar was supposed to be Water Tribe but the wrong events at the wrong time caused the cycle to shift too early. Now, the Avatar is someone unknown and unforseen until it is possibly too late. With the world moving towards imbalance and chaos, the Avatar has to quickly learn their destiny and skills. AU where Bolin is the Avatar.
1. Prologue

_**Author's Note;**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to my first 'Legend of Korra' fic. This is an AU where Bolin is the Avatar through events that will be detailed during the story. This will also be in the same AU as my 'Legend of Aang' fic 'Child of the Moon', though how much that story will affect this one remains to be seen. I hope you all enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Prologue**

It was the early days on the street that Mako noticed it.

They were still learning how to survive the harsh life they'd been dropped into, still learning the tricks and skills needed, and winter had come, bringing with it the icy cold that claimed many street orphans. Mako did his best, he truly did, but his flames could only do so much to warm them and he couldn't keep them going indefinitely. On top of that, they still had to find food to survive and it was lean pickings.

It was no wonder Bolin fell ill.

Kneeling on the stone floor of some abandoned building in the city's poorest district, Mako gently bent fire around his out-of-it little brother, desperately trying to warm him. As many rags and vaguely useful bits of cloth were piled on the small boy as possible, Mako himself had shed as much of his clothes as he could, letting his firebending keep him warm, easily donating them to the heap. However, they didn't seem to be doing much and Bolin was still far, far too cold.

Repeating the bending motions he'd been performing endlessly, Mako stared at his brother's still face, searching for a sign that his efforts were doing something. As before, nothing changed and the young firebender gritted his teeth, refusing to give up, and continued his bending, ignoring the exhaustion that was creeping into his body.

Then he felt something.

It wasn't definable, nor was it visible, but he felt something of a tiny surge, coming from Bolin. He momentarily halted his ceaseless bending and glanced at his brother's face once more, seeing that the boy's breathing had become deeper, more deliberate, more controlled. Bolin himself seemed to still be unconscious but these breaths were not those of a sleeper.

Then it happened.

It was tiny, a blink-and-you'll-miss-it event, but a flame briefly appeared as Bolin exhaled, in the same way some master firebenders could breathe fire. Mako jumped in shock and quickly rubbed his eyes, thinking he was seeing things, then, slowly, tentatively, placed his hand on Bolin's forehead, finding it far warmer than it had been. He quickly moved it to his brother's chest, finding that it too had gone up to a far more reassuring temperature. It wasn't normal and was still colder than it really should be, but it was much better than it had been.

Carefully, Mako replaced the disturbed cloths and sat back, his firebending apparently no longer needed, and thought about what he'd just seen.

Did his brother just firebend?

He immediately shunned the idea, Bolin was an earthbender like their father, he couldn't firebend, not unless he was…no! It wasn't possible, maybe he'd imagined the flames and Bolin's recovery was due to the continuous firebending he'd been doing or their dual nationality, that had to be it. He should just be thankful that Bolin was likely to recover.

However, the thought lingered at the back of his mind.

* * *

Over the following years, the thought remained, and as time passed, Mako's suspicions grew.

Each event was small and easily missed or attributed to luck, the odd, sudden gust of wind that just happened to help them out, the way the sea magically washed Bolin on the shore when he fell off a ship in the bay, how the earthbender seemed to be able to unintentionally warm himself in winter. All of these things added up and pointed to an uncomfortable truth that really shouldn't be possible and Mako slowly grew more and more certain. Bolin himself hadn't seemed to have realised and the elder brother reluctantly blamed himself for that.

Each time one of these 'lucky' occurrences happened, Mako would explain it away and his younger brother, trusting him completely, would believe him. He told himself it was for Bolin's sake, he couldn't be sure his hunch was right and there was no point in freaking his brother out over something that might not even be true, but the more things happened the more obvious it was getting. At some point someone was going to find out, someone was going to find and put the scattered pieces together and realise that Bolin was somehow the Avatar.

The question as to how remained.

The next Avatar was supposed to be from the Water Tribe, everyone knew that, so why was an Earth Kingdom/Fire Nation earthbender showing signs of being the Avatar, it made no sense! It couldn't be possible!

This was Mako's main excuse for not saying anything, it was so impossible that it couldn't be true. All the strange things that happened were nothing more than luck, chance, a coincidental turn of events that could be called good fortune and left at that.

Except there'd been too many and since meeting Korra, they'd only become more regular.

The Water Tribe girl had apparently been sent to Master Tenzin by her father to both see more of the world and achieve some internal balance. She was headstrong by nature and tended to act herself rather than take other options, something that had pulled him and Bolin into more dangerous situations than he liked. That being said, her attitude had actually been the reason they'd managed to rescue Bolin from Amon before he had his bending taken away, something he was immensely grateful for. On top of that, she was an excellent teammate and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they owed their chance at winning the Pro-Bending Tournament to her.

But the brush with Amon had made Mako's thoughts on Bolin much more concrete.

In the frantic rush of his rescue and the fight with one of Amon's goons, he'd seen Bolin instinctively airbend, halting an incapacitating blow. Bolin himself had reacted in panic, his eyes screwed shut, and had missed the fact his counter had been done with air, not earth. Fortunately, Mako had been the only other person there and the Equalist had been knocked hard, hopefully blurring his own memories of that part of the fight, meaning that it wasn't revealed to all. However, it couldn't be rationalised away this time, at least, not to himself. Bolin had bent air and Mako couldn't convince himself otherwise, that meant his little brother had to be the Avatar.

It weighed heavily on his mind.

* * *

Mako glared down at the ropes binding them to one of the arena's pillars.

Above them, Amon was holding forth with his Equalist speech having just taken away the Wolfbat's bending abilities and he hoped they weren't next. He turned his head to Bolin, "How are we gonna get out of here?"

His little brother grinned and nodded downwards to where Pabu was rapidly chewing through the ropes and both Korra and Mako grinned as well as the chewed rope fell away. Instantly, Korra was up and bending the water around them, "Let's go!"

With no time to prepare, Mako found himself being hurled upwards by a torrent of water, Bolin alongside him shrieking in delight at the wild ride. Somehow, they both landed smoothly on the arena floor and rolled into bending stances, Korra followed closely behind and their sudden entrance effectively ruined the climax of Amon's speech.

Not bothering to exchange words, Korra began her attack and Mako and Bolin quickly followed suit. They took out a couple of the grunts but the higher ranked Equalists were swift and agile, closing the distance and pressing an attack of their own. Within moments, the three teens found themselves on the defensive, barely prevent chi-blocking strikes and electrified weapons as Amon watched impassively.

A lieutenant danced around Mako, using swift strikes and jabs, aiming to electrocute the young firebender. For his part, Mako was dodging well but his own bursts of flame were not coming close to actually hitting his foe, unless he got especially lucky he was going to lose.

A sudden, easily identifiable yell snatched his attention and he whipped his head around in time to see Bolin collapse forwards, another Equalist standing over him with his electric glove still sparking. Mako immediately moved to aid his brother but a sudden surge of electricity ran through him as his opponent took advantage of his loss of focus.

He dimly heard Korra's scream as he fell, indicating she'd also been bested, but his thoughts stayed on Bolin. He was roughly hauled up and dragged towards Amon and made to kneel in front of him. The revolutionary stared down at him, his eyes showing no sign that he particularly cared about what he was about to do, and spoke bluntly, "Prepare to be equalized."

Numbly, Mako could only watch as Amon placed his thumb on his forehead, awaiting the loss of his bending.

"MAKO!"

From out of nowhere a gust of wind blasted around him, raging around the arena and knocking Amon off his feet. It increased in power and he saw the earth discs rip themselves from their holders and fly wildly in the air, several of them being crushed or shattered in the process. As he heard the shocked gasps and screams, he slowly turned, already certain of what he was about to see.

Bolin, his face a mask of uncharacteristic fury with eyes shining an unearthly white, standing in the centre of the maelstrom he'd created.

Around him, Equalists were tossed away and they hastily ran for ropes that had been dropped by an airship, desperate to escape the raging storm they'd riled up. Bolin paid them little heed, his current state seemingly focused purely on awesome bending power, Amon had already vanished but the boy's rage didn't seem close to ending. The wind's power increased and earth discs were scattered across the arena, smashing into everything in sight, Chief Beifong's elite had recovered from the Equalist attack and were managing to deflect the discs from the civilians but if Bolin didn't stop, someone was going to get hurt.

The boy had begun to float upwards, the wind raising him from the ground, and Mako pushed against the winds, taking a step towards him and shouting over the howling wind, "BOLIN!"

His brother showed no sign of hearing but the firebender pushed forward anyway, "BOLIN, CAN YOU HEAR ME?"

Bolin cast his glowing eyes upon him but there was no recognition within them. Regardless, Mako opened his arms and looked up appealingly, "BOLIN, IF YOU DON'T STOP NOW THEN SOMEONE IS GOING TO GET HURT!"

If there was one thing Mako knew about his brother, it was that Bolin didn't want to hurt others if he could help it. Even like this, he was certain the boy would still feel that way.

For the first time, Bolin's face showed more than rage, it switched to a frown and then a look of fear, his eyes slowly closed and Mako could see his brother crinkling his forehead, as if fighting something. The winds gradually died and the boy slowly dropped back to the ground. The moment his feet touched the floor, the wind died and any remaining earth discs dropped out of the air.

Ignoring the deathly hush of those around them, Mako pulled Bolin into a tight hug. The younger teen buried his face into his brother's chest and began to sob.

"I'm sorry Mako."

* * *

 _ **PS-So Bolin has both discovered and revealed he's the Avatar in one shot. The next chapter will deal with some of the aftermath of this, as well as give a sort of explanation as to how he can be the Avatar. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	2. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello all and welcome to chapter one. As expected, this one deals with the immediate aftermath of last chapter and it largely remains focused on Bolin's viewpoint. Thank you those who've shown their support through follows, favourites and reviews so far and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I do not own any aspect of 'Legend of Korra'.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

Raised voices, shouted questions, barked orders, mutterings, all blurring around Bolin.

For his part, he held onto Mako as if his older brother was an anchor, preventing the hubbub from sweeping him away, as they were firmly guided through the heaving crowds that seemed to press in around them. He was dimly aware of Korra beside him, apparently shielding him like Mako was, and Asami (another recent friend of theirs) just behind. The three of them acted as a much-needed buffer between him and the rest of the world as he struggled to not be overwhelmed.

He was the Avatar.

He couldn't remember much, fighting Equalists, getting taken down, Mako almost losing his bending, then hot, white power and fragments of devastating winds and his brother shouting for him to stop. It was all broken and fragmented but he remembered enough to know he'd been airbending and earthbending at the same time, something that only the Avatar could do.

Something only he could do.

The noise around them faded away and he slowly realised that they'd left the crowds behind and that they were now on a ferry. He'd been pushed gently into a seat and Mako sat right beside him, keeping his arm firmly around his shoulders, Korra and Asami leaned against the rail in front of him and silence hung heavily in the air. Both girls looked like they wanted to say something but they never did and the only sounds were the ocean, the ferry and tense mutterings coming from Tenzin and the Chief of Police. They were up the front and everyone could tell that they were arguing about what to do next, about what to do with him.

"Where are we going?"

There was a pause as everyone blinked in surprise that he'd spoken but Mako answered, "Air Temple Island."

"Oh."

He looked down at his hands but didn't say anything else.

* * *

Bolin barely noticed their arrival at the island, he just let Mako lead him to a bed and fell into slumber.

His dreams were fogged and disjointed, flashes of an airbender (Aang, his subconscious supplied), a Water Tribe man, some sort of courtroom. Images that didn't make sense but somehow felt important, all but forgotten when he awoke the next morning.

At first, he was confused, not recognising where he was, but then it all trickled back, the match, the Equalists, what he did. He slowly sat up, unsurprised to find Mako already awake and watching him.

His brother's brow creased in concern, "Bolin?"

"What happens now?"

Mako sighed, "I don't know little bro."

A gentle knock on the door interrupted any further conversation and it slowly creaked open to reveal Tenzin. The airbending master spoke simply, "Breakfast is ready."

Mako replied with a nod and the monk swiftly departed, the firebender looked to him, "You hungry Bo?"

Bolin managed a small smile, "You know it."

* * *

Tenzin remained silent and solemn as they awaited the brothers' arrival.

With great difficulty, he'd managed to convince Ikki, Meelo and Jinora to not bombard Bolin with questions the moment he appeared. The boy's face was already plastered across every newspaper, declaring him to be the new Avatar, so any slim hope they had of keeping it quiet for a while was dashed. This meant that every person between here and the South Pole now knew who Bolin was and his children were already excited to help teach him airbending.

Unfortunately, he doubted that Bolin himself was ready.

The boy needed time to come to terms with who he was, what he could do, he needed careful guidance, training and space to accept his identity. However, it looked like time was not something he was going to get.

Amon had effectively declared war last night, he was clearly ready to make more aggressive moves and the Avatar would certainly be a target. Lin had already reached the same conclusion and she wanted Bolin out of the city and as far away from Amon as possible, preferably somewhere he could be protected at all times. Personally, he agreed somewhat with her but he felt shipping the boy out as soon as possible would be too extreme.

Bolin had already had a big enough shock in discovering who he was, did they really want to add to his stress by suddenly sending him away from the only city he'd ever really known? Air Temple Island seemed to be a reasonable compromise, it was defendable, quiet and secluded, but still a part of Republic City. He would be safe there (especially when the White Lotus soldiers arrived to boost security) and it was the only place he could learn airbending.

Footsteps pulled him from his thoughts and Tenzin produced a welcoming smile as Mako and Bolin appeared. He noticed the new Avatar sticking close to his brother's heels with said brother always positioned in a way that shielded the younger boy. They stopped as all eyes fell upon them and he saw how Bolin slightly moved closer to Mako, he went to try and assure the boys but Pema beat him to it, "It's alright, please, join us."

Tentatively, they took their places and Bolin glanced around with a nervous grin, Tenzin spotted his wife shooting their children a stern look and he inwardly sighed with relief that she was halting any overexuberant questions. Seemingly picking up on the building awkwardness, their other unexpected guest, Asami, smoothly began a conversation with Pema, sparking a normal mealtime discussion where everyone ignored the flying bison in the room that was Bolin being the Avatar.

While not as vocal as Tenzin suspected he'd usually be, Bolin seemed to relax slightly and the airbender thought it best to give the boy a time of normality before bringing him back to reality.

Of course, it was his own children that spoiled things.

It was a lull between topics, right at the point where everyone felt normal and unawkward, that Ikki apparently couldn't contain herself anymore.

"Are you really the Avatar?"

Instantly, the comfortable atmosphere went tense as Jinora winced, Korra grimaced, Mako glanced at his brother in concern and Meelo and Ikki stared at the boy intently. For endless moments, Bolin sat there and fiddled with his collar nervously until he briefly closed his eyes, exhaled through his nose then answered quietly, "I guess I am."

"Cool! But isn't the Avatar supposed to be Water Tribe this time? Aren't you an earthbender? Are you secretly Water Tribe but just didn't know it? Are…"

"Ikki!"

Pema's stern voice cut across her, halting the ceaseless questions and as the girl looked sheepish, Bolin spoke quietly.

"How am I the Avatar?"

It was the question of the day, the one being asked not only by Ikki and Bolin, but by all the papers and those who read them. Why wasn't the Avatar a member of the Water Tribe?

Tenzin knew that Bolin's question was directed at him, that everyone in the room was waiting on an answer, and he gave a deep sigh. "Sixteen years ago, a group of powerful benders attempted to kidnap a baby from the Southern Water Tribe. Myself, Chief Sokka, Fire Lord Zuko and Korra's father managed to stop them but the child, to our great sadness, did not survive. We don't know how, but it seemed this group knew that the baby was the next Avatar but it wasn't until afterwards that we realised."

Korra leaned forwards, "So the Water Tribe Avatar died as a child?"

Tenzin simply nodded, "Yes Korra." He briefly shut his eyes before continuing, "We kept it from the public, believing there to be allies to the group still at large, in the hope that we could find the next Avatar before any who would cause them harm. If people believed the Avatar was coming from the Water Tribes, they wouldn't be looking for him elsewhere. We scoured the Earth Kingdom, trying to find the next Avatar, but as years passed, we began to fear that maybe what had happened had somehow broken the cycle. We had no indication that the Avatar was anywhere to be found."

He looked at Bolin, "Until now."

* * *

Bolin sat silently in the courtyard, idly petting Pabu as his mind wandered.

It'd been decided that, for the time being, he and Mako would remain on Air Temple Island. Mako had already gone back to the arena with Korra to gather their few possessions while Asami had reluctantly returned to her father to assist with Future Industries. He could see why it was a good idea for him to stay, he was both a celebrity and a target now and Tenzin was probably the only one who could teach him airbending, but it felt like everything was running away from him so fast he couldn't keep up.

A light rustling of robes indicated Tenzin sitting beside him, "Bolin, are you alright?"

'No' was the truthful answer, everything had just turned on its head and he suddenly had a whole host of duties about to be thrust at him, duties he never wanted or considered. However, he instead went for something less definite.

"Sort of."

He got the feeling that Tenzin knew full well that was partly a lie but the airbender didn't call him out on it, "I have to attend a council meeting to discuss what happened, I'm sure they'll be wanting to start your training immediately and will no doubt have chosen teachers themselves."

Bolin winced slightly, teachers, he'd nearly forgotten that he needed to be taught the other elements. He glanced up at Tenzin, "Isn't that up to the White Lotus?"

The monk sighed, "It should be but I know that certain council members will want to still have their input, especially considering the fact you're technically a citizen of Republic City." He smiled reassuringly, "I'll do my best to hold them off, it's a lot for you to come to terms with and if you need time to do so, I'll try and give it to you."

Bolin gave a him a grateful smile which soon turned into a frown, "I'm not sure I have time, even if I want it." He sighed sadly, "What if this is a mistake? What if I can't do it?"

He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, "Bolin, every Avatar before you have had their doubts, their fears and their struggles. It may all seem overwhelming now but I'm sure that with time and patience, it will all come together and make sense."

Bolin smiled again, Tenzin was right. Every Avatar before him had had to learn as well, if they had done it then he could to.

"Thanks."

The airbending master nodded and slowly stood, "Well, I must get to the meeting. I'll be back as soon as it's over."

As he strode towards his bison, a thought occurred to Bolin and he swiftly stood to call after him, "Master Tenzin!"

The airbender turned back to face him and the young Avatar clasped his hands together nervously.

"Can Mako be my firebending teacher?"

* * *

 _ **PS-I think I'll skip ahead a couple of days next chapter and we'll see some bending lessons. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	3. Chapter 2

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello and welcome to another chapter. This one shows some of Bolin's firebending training as well as detailing bits of his struggles as well as mentioning some of the other events going on. Thank you those who've shown their support so far and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

"Firebending is all about your breath bro, the key to true firebending comes from being able to control your breathing."

Tenzin watched as Mako continued his lesson with Bolin, finding himself slightly surprised by the teen's calmness and knowledge of his own bending art.

When Bolin initially asked that his brother teach him firebending, Tenzin was admittedly concerned about whether it would work or not. Personally, he believed that the boy needed a fully-fledged master and while Mako was obviously no amateur, his bending would largely be self-taught since they grew up on the streets. He'd agreed with the idea in the first place because even though he thought Bolin needed a different teacher, Mako could at least get him started on the basics until such a teacher could be found. It would also likely help the boy get used to the idea of being the Avatar if he was being taught by the person who seemed to be his main emotional support.

But Mako was surprising him.

Despite being an airbender, Tenzin had a very in-depth knowledge of firebending thanks lessons on its style and philosophy from Iroh, Lord Zuko and his own father and it seemed Mako had very similar knowledge. He understood the importance of breath control in his bending and, unlike many, emphasised its significance. Also, according to Korra, he was also capable of both generating and redirecting lightning indicating a very high level of skill. While lightning generation was a more common skill these days, lightning redirection was still very rare. As far as he could recall, only three or four other people (barring his father, Lord Zuko and Iroh) had been capable of the skill and even less could perform both, making him wonder just how much of the teen's skills were self-taught.

As the two brothers went through breathing exercises, Tenzin considered leaving Mako as Bolin's firebending teacher permanently.

As he'd predicted, the council, particularly Tarrlok, were pushing to have a say in Bolin's training. Despite him telling them that the responsibility technically rested with the White Lotus, they still had several suggestions for teachers and were not holding back in presenting them. They were also wanting Bolin to make a public appearance before Republic City, the people were demanding an appearance from the Avatar and the papers were relentless in trying to dig up any info on the boy. On top of that, they had the aggressive move by Amon and everyone was clamouring for word on how the Avatar was going to deal with the Equalist threat.

With this in mind, Tenzin could see why they wanted Bolin to make a public statement but the boy had next to no training and was barely capable of handling his Avatar duties at this time, he also feared it might be too much too soon for him.

However, the council were also aware of his lack of training but instead of trying to find a way to give Bolin time to learn, they wanted to make him learn all the other elements at once instead of in turn. That was something he couldn't allow, the Avatar had to do things in order for a reason, they couldn't just hyper train him and ram three new bending styles at him at once, that was just asking for trouble and a poorly prepared Avatar.

Eventually, after much discussion, he managed to get them to hold off for the moment but he knew that they would bring the subject up again soon, they'd come up with a stop-gap to satisfy the press but answers were wanted and something more defined would have to be done soon.

This was why he was considering leaving Mako as Bolin's teacher, the White Lotus (likely at his mother's suggestion) had decided to leave him in charge of Bolin's training and choose bending teachers himself. While originally planned as a temporary teacher, Mako was appearing to prove himself quite capable and if Bolin had a teacher, the council would be appeased on that front and possibly relent a little more in other areas. It could relieve pressure from the people as well since they could announce that the Avatar was in training and as time went by, they could give other titbits of information to keep the press happy and slow their hounding.

He would give it a few days and see how the lessons progressed.

* * *

Taking his stance, Bolin took the controlled breaths Mako had taught him.

It had been a week since he'd discovered he was the Avatar and he was slowly getting used to it. He partly chalked that up to the fact he hadn't left Air Temple Island since that day and was far from the uproar in the city his reveal had caused, with only his brother and friends around supporting him. Training with his brother had also helped but he found Mako to be a fairly strict teacher.

His brother wouldn't even let him attempt any stances until he had his breath control down, emphasising how important it was and how it was the core of firebending. Once they did move onto actual stances, Mako insisted he have each one down perfectly before moving onto the next and before they started trying to actually produce fire.

While his methods seemed somewhat stifling to some, Bolin wasn't surprised by his brother's caution. When it came to him, Mako had always lingered in the 'overprotective' end of the scale (its level had also only increased since he'd been discovered as the Avatar) and it was something he couldn't really blame him for considering how much trouble he'd gotten himself into in the past. As such, he just went along with it and had practiced and practiced until his brother deemed him ready to use actual flames.

Breathing in and out and double checking his stance, he punched forward ready to firebend for the first time.

Only, nothing happened.

He blinked in confusion but reminded himself it was only his first time and retook the stance. Again, he did his breathing techniques and once again punched forward just to have a complete absence of flames once more.

Over and over he repeated his actions, checking his breathing, his stance and everything else but every time he didn't produce so much as a single spark. He could feel his frustration building but he continued to try until Mako finally called a break.

With a sigh, Bolin flopped to the ground while his brother frowned, "I don't understand, you're doing the stance perfectly and your breath control is fine, why isn't it working?"

Before Bolin could reply, Asami appeared with a broad smile, "Hey guys, how's the training going?"

Bolin just grunted and rolled over and Mako answered, "He's trying but he's not managed to produce fire yet."

"At all." The younger brother added.

The girl knelt down and patted her friend on the shoulder, "Don't let it get to you Bolin, you've only just started. I'm sure you'll be firebending in no time."

Her words lifted him up and he sat up and grinned, "You're right, I just need to keep trying." He then frowned in confusion, "Why are you here, I thought you were really busy helping your dad out?"

She shrugged, "I managed to wrangle some time, I thought you'd like to see someone who doesn't live on this island for once."

"How's it going in the city?"

At Mako's question, she took on a look of slight worry, "It's still in a bit of an uproar, what with Amon's attack on the stadium and Bolin being revealed as the Avatar. Everyone is demanding that he makes an appearance to reveal what he plans to do about the Equalists."

"But that's ridiculous!" Mako said incredulously, "Surely they realise there's not a lot Bolin can do about it right now, he's only just discovered who he is!"

"I know Mako." She answered evenly, "But people hear the word 'Avatar' and automatically assume that he's somehow going to solve everything. Several rumours are already flying around that he's been hidden by the council for years for training and the council hasn't exactly been forthcoming on the issue so far. While the papers have been trying to dig up what they can on him, you and Bolin's history is largely unknown since you basically vanished from any records when you ended up on the streets, only adding to this rumour."

Fear briefly flashed across Mako's face, "What have they found out so far?"

She looked at him sadly, "Unfortunately, they have managed to discover what happened to your parents, the story was all over this morning's papers along with theories on how Bolin can be the Avatar despite not being Water Tribe."

There was a quick look of relief on the older brother's face and Bolin knew exactly why, it seemed so far that their history with the Triple Threat's was unknown, the papers would have a field day if they discovered that part of their lives. However, Asami's news wasn't exactly comforting, people were already expecting a lot of him and he was reminded just how much of a trial he had in front of him. How was he supposed to do it?

He stood, "Hey Mako, let's get back to it."

* * *

For three days he'd been practising, for three days he'd been endlessly going through stances, breathing and everything, yet he still hadn't produced fire.

With dinner long over, he'd disappeared outside to slump under the shelter where Tenzin often meditated. Normally, he was far more upbeat and happy but he was feeling weighed down by it all, Tenzin and the council had released a statement to the public saying that he was currently undergoing training but it only seemed to make the press even more determined to get information. Asami had been by regularly and usually brought copies of the papers with her so he'd seen all the stories and theories, which only emphasised what people expected of him. They wanted the Avatar out there with Tarrlok's task force and the police, hunting down Equalists and fighting Amon, they wanted him to be facing the world's issues with all four elements, to be their champion.

But he couldn't even firebend.

Tenzin had repeatedly said that he only needed time, he wouldn't just pick up a whole new bending art like it was nothing, that and he reminded him that every Avatar had difficulties with one of the elements. However, it did little to console him and he was even more glad he wasn't in the city, at least the pressure from everyone else wasn't literally surrounding him.

Standing, he took his stance and stubbornly ran the motions.

If he could just produce a single flame, then he could make progress. He couldn't help but feel that it was just one, simple, obvious thing he was missing, one thing that was stopping him from firebending. If he could just get it…

With a sigh, he slumped his shoulders and sat heavily once more.

"Bolin."

At the gentle voice, he turned his head to see Pema standing there with a comforting smile. The woman quietly sat beside him, doing so carefully due to her heavy pregnancy, "It's all happening too fast, isn't it?"

In his time spent on the island, he'd discovered Tenzin's wife to be incredibly perceptive, so he was unsurprised that she'd hit on the issue immediately.

He nodded slowly, "Barely two weeks ago I was just Bolin, now I'm the Avatar who needs to somehow learn three other elements while taking down a terrorist and protecting the entire world." He brought his knees to his chest, "It just seems to have spiralled out of control so fast and I can't even do even a little bit of firebending."

She rubbed his shoulder soothingly, "Bolin, let you tell me something I once learned about firebending, from Lord Zuko himself none the less." She tapped his hand, "He told me that a firebender needs their drive in order to produce fire, in other words, they need some form of goal or vision to strive for. Without this 'inner fire', their bending becomes weak." She turned her head to look at him, "I think might be why you're having difficulty firebending."

He frowned, "There's something wrong with my drive?"

"What was your main goal before discovering you were the Avatar?"

He blinked slowly, "To win the Pro-Bending Tournament."

She smiled, "So that was your drive then, but what is your goal now?"

His frown deepened, "To…beat Amon?"

She didn't respond and continued to stare as if waiting for something more, making him flustered, "To learn all four elements? Protect the world? Are any of these the right answer?"

"Bolin. The fact you're asking that question proves that I may be right." She gently took his hand, "When it comes to 'what is your drive' there is no 'right' answer, only what you choose. I believe that you're having trouble firebending because you're having trouble deciding on your goal as the Avatar, it all happened so fast you feel the pressures and expectations of the world making it hard for you to find your drive. Their wants are crowding out and conflicting with each other, so you can't choose between them."

She squeezed his hand, "I know this happened suddenly and has seemingly gone far beyond what you can cope with but if you get an ultimate focus, you'll find ways to handle each obstacle one step at a time."

She looked him in the eyes, "You are the Avatar, there's no denying it, so now decide want you want to do with that. Forget Amon, forget the pressures of the public, forget learning the elements, as the Avatar, what do _you_ want?"

He sat in silence, his thoughts pondering over everything she said. What did he want? Before, he'd been focused on the tournament, on the streets he'd been focused on helping Mako, but what about now? Pema was right when she said he was the Avatar now, there was no denying it and he couldn't exactly give it away, so what did he want to do with it? Fighting Amon, learning the elements, protecting the world, they all seemed to be things he had to do as the Avatar, it was his duty, he couldn't exactly ignore them for his own selfish reasons.

Unless what he truly wanted didn't involve ignoring them.

That was it! He was too caught up in thinking about everyone's expectations and wants that he saw them as conflicting goals but they weren't, they were simply obstacles and tasks on his way to his true want. Yes, they were large things to deal with but they didn't have to conflict and they didn't have to swamp him.

He took a deep breath, "What I want, is to help people so they can live their lives in peace."

Said out loud, it seemed such a childish and cliché answer but it was what he wanted and it was really the simplest way to describe the Avatar's duties. Learning all four elements was merely so he was better equipped to do that and defeating Amon was part of helping Republic City get past its current problems, they were obstacles and trials, not the be all end all.

At his words, Pema smiled, "Then I think you'll be a great Avatar." She gestured in front of them, "Now, try firebending one last time."

He slowly stood and took his stance, controlling his breath he fixed his goal in his mind. He wanted to help people to live peaceful lives and he needed firebending to do it, that was his drive. Taking one last breath, he punched forwards, his words held strongly in his mind.

He produced fire.

* * *

 _ **PS-He's finally, consciously, used firebending. I decided to make fire his challenging element because I thought that would be the one he would have most difficulty with. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	4. Chapter 3

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to Chapter 3. This one finally gets a little more action in it as well as progress in terms of season storytelling. Thank those who've shown their support for this story and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

"MAKO!"

The firebender sprung to his feet at Bolin's shout, thinking that they were under attack or something but instead, his little brother bounded into the room like an overexcited polar dog and grabbed him in a jubilant hug.

"I FINALLY MANAGED TO FIREBEND!"

It took a moment or two for him to realise what his brother had said (he was having the air unintentionally crushed from his lungs after all) but Korra was quick to congratulate the boy.

"That's great Bolin!"

Tenzin nodded sagely, "Indeed, I had no doubt you'd get it in time."

Finally releasing him, Bolin grinned at his brother jubilantly, "You see, I didn't have a proper drive which was stopping me but now I have one so I can firebend, isn't that great!?"

Mako couldn't help but give a rare grin, "It is great, I'm proud of you little bro."

"Now that I've got it, we can really get going on my training. We can do more stances, more moves, lightning…"

"Woah little bro!" Mako hastily cut across his excited babble, "You're definitely nowhere near ready to start on lightning." He hid a grin at the way Tenzin's face had visibly paled at the thought of Bolin bending lightning near his home, "Let's just focus on the basics first."

The boy looked slightly sheepish, "I know." He then smiled broadly, "It's just that I'm so happy I finally managed to get this, thanks to Pema."

Said woman had sidled into the room and she tapped the Avatar on the shoulder, "It's getting late everyone, we should all turn in for the night."

Her husband stood, "Agreed, we all have busy days tomorrow."

As Korra departed for the girl's rooms with a simple goodnight, Mako pushed Bolin lightly towards their room, "Come on Bo, we'll start training again first thing tomorrow. We should get some sleep."

"You're right."

Bolin gave a thankful bow to Pema before hurrying off towards bed but Mako lingered a little longer, "Thank you, for helping him out."

Pema smiled, "It was nothing, I'm just glad to see him so happy again."

He also bowed gratefully before following his little brother.

* * *

After overcoming his initial difficulties with fire, Bolin's skill with the element improved greatly.

Bit by bit, he slowly mastered the forms and gradually began to form a style of his own, though Mako's own style clearly influenced it heavily. Throughout his training, the young Avatar had remained on Air Temple Island but the calls for a public appearance from him were increasing. The council were still trying to push him to start learning the remaining elements now he had a firebending teacher but Tenzin was holding them off. Time and again, he'd told them that teaching all of them at once wasn't the answer but they still pushed. While Bolin's airbending teacher was certainly confirmed (Tenzin was the only airbending master after all), his waterbending teacher was still undecided. Tarrlok kept putting himself forward but Tenzin wanted that man as far from the Avatar as possible, he knew full well the councilman only wanted more power and status and he didn't want him to have more than he already did.

And so, it continued back and forth and it was only a matter of time until someone took a different approach.

Then came the shock.

* * *

It right in the middle of a sparring session between Mako and Bolin that Chief Beifong appeared.

"Where's Tenzin?"

The two brothers stopped their sparring and looked at her in surprise as Korra (who'd been watching) answered, "He's just inside."

She nodded and strode towards the building but Bolin called after her, "What's happened?"

She spun, looking as if she was about to tell him 'it wasn't his concern' but then sighed, "I suppose its best if you all hear this as well."

An Air Acolyte had already seen the Chief coming and informed Tenzin, as such, the airbender was waiting for them in his study.

"Lin, what brings you here?"

"Trouble Tenzin." She answered brusquely, "I'll get straight to the point, it seems highly likely that Hiroshi Sato is working with the equalists."

"What, Asami's father? There's no way!"

Bolin backed up his brother, "I mean, he sponsored our Pro-Bending team, why would he do that if he hates benders?"

"As a ploy to throw suspicion off." Lin answered simply, "With his wealth, sponsoring your team was hardly a great loss to him and it presents a public image of bender support he can hide behind."

She returned her gaze to Tenzin, "We uncovered potential links between him and the Equalists and an informant recently told us about a possible secret factory beneath his mansion."

Tenzin frowned, "I understand your concern, but why bring this to me? Surely this is a police matter only?"

"Usually you'd be right." She folded her arms, "But right now I'm not sure how many of my officers I can trust, Tarrlok is expanding his influence and is looking for any reason to have me fired. If there is a factory down there I want someone with me who I know won't stab me in the back."

The monk frowned thoughtfully, "I see, but to look for this factory, you'd have to get a search warrant for the house and you need both a valid reason and a team of officers in order to search it."

"That's where these kids come in."

She glanced at the three teens and Bolin pointed at himself in confusion, "Us?"

"Yes. You're all friends with that Sato girl and will probably be allowed inside the house."

"Wait." Mako stepped forward, "You want us to lie to Asami and search her dad's mansion?"

"Not quite kid." She placed her hands on her hips, "All I want you kids to do is visit your friend and keep her distracted for a bit, me and Tenzin will handle the search."

Korra frowned, "And how are you two supposed to get in?"

"The Avatar-in-training, his brother and the only daughter of the Southern Water Tribe's chief are going into a city where a bending-hating terrorist is at large, having a master bender and a competent member of the police as protection is hardly unexpected." She answered bluntly.

"So, while we're with Asami, you and Tenzin will search the house." Bolin clarified.

The Chief of Police simply nodded and Mako scowled, "I don't like this, there's no way Asami's dad is with the Equalists."

Beifong sighed, "Look kid, you may not like it but I have to follow leads to make sure the city is safe. The search will be quick, if there's no factory then Sato is in the clear and it's a dead end. I confirm that he's not an Equalist and you kids get to spend the day hanging out, its win-win."

Mako's expression didn't change and Korra tried to appeal to him, "Look, you know full well she's going to search the place whether we help or not, we have to consider any possible leads to stop Amon."

He snapped at her, "Hiroshi is not an Equalist!" He looked to Bolin, "Tell her bro!"

Bolin hesitated, not sure how to answer. Like Mako, he had a hard time believing that Hiroshi was an Equalist but he was sure that Lin Beifong wouldn't be investigating him if she didn't have decent evidence to do so. He ummed and ahhed over his response before finally answering, "Well, if the Chief feels it's necessary to investigate then we probably should." Seeing his brother's scowl, he smiled appealingly, "And look at it this way, there probably is no factory so we'll get to spend a day with Asami at her mansion for nothing."

The thought of spending a day with his girlfriend mellowed Mako slightly and he sighed, "Fine, we'll do it."

* * *

When he'd agreed to the plan, Bolin had thought that Lin would find nothing and they'd spend a fun day with Asami and no training.

Of course, their luck just had to bite them again.

Lin had certainly found something suspicious which resulted in her bringing an entire, trusted squad in to investigate further, leaving them topside with a fuming Asami.

"I don't believe you all! You lied to me!"

Bolin held up his hands in a pacifying gesture, "Asami, I'm sorry. None of us wanted to do this but Beifong would have searched the place anyway. I assumed she wouldn't find anything and that would be the end of it." He glanced at the newly revealed tunnel in the back of Hiroshi's workshop, "I wasn't expecting this."

The ground rumbled slightly and a dull sound echoed up from down the tunnel.

"What was that?"

All four looked down the tunnel as Mako answered Korra's question, "I don't know."

The officer left to keep an eye on them moved them back but Korra was done waiting, swiftly bending the water out of the pouch at her side, she froze it directly beneath the man, causing him to slip and fall. Like a flash, the teens shot past him down the tunnel with Bolin hanging back just for a second,

"Sorry!"

* * *

Slowly coming around, Lin forcefully made her head clear.

Now fully aware, she saw her officers being loaded into trucks to be taken to Amon and she willed her body to start moving. However, it was still suffering the effects of the mecha tank's electrocution and refused to budge. Suddenly, someone stood over her and pulled her to her feet, throwing her arm around their shoulders.

She realised it was Bolin and she nearly cursed, idiot kid! This was the last place a partly-trained Avatar should be!

The boy began pulling her over to a hole in the ground, trying his best to remain unnoticed but it was not to be.

"Not so fast Avatar!"

At Hiroshi's voice, the Equalists all stopped and stared and Bolin grinned nervously, "Hi Mr Sato, nice workshop you've got."

Mako had taken a ready stance in front of them and he cut into the conversation, his voice filled with betrayal, "Beifong was right, you just used us to help keep your cover!"

The man's voice held no regret, "Yes, and it was nearly impossible to keep face while my daughter traipsed around with a firebending street rat and his clueless Avatar brother!"

Bolin winced, "Ouch."

The lieutenant and his men charged and Bolin instantly dropped Lin to bend up a rock wall as defence. The Chief, her body still uncooperative, could only watch as the brothers tried to hold off the attack while Korra dragged her and Tenzin to safety. The two moved as one unit, with Mako leading the main offence with his firebending as Bolin supported him with earth. Their synchronisation was impressive but the Equalists were well versed in handling benders.

They quickly pushed home the attack, as Hiroshi called commands from behind, "Get the Avatar! He's nowhere near his full power yet so Amon will want to deal with him before he becomes a threat!"

With his earthbending clearly not working as well as he'd hoped, Bolin switched stances and moved onto pushing their own attack with fire. The move caught the Equalists off-guard, clearly, they hadn't expected the new Avatar to have a handle on a second element yet and were momentarily halted. Seizing the chance, the brothers began firebending in unison, increasing the power of their attacks and even starting to push the Equalists back.

Then, a grapple from one of the mechs latched onto Bolin, shocking him.

As the boy collapsed, Mako immediately fired lightning at the mech, frying its controls and making it go haywire, flinging the Equalists into confusion. As the attack halted, the teen crouched down and hauled his younger brother over his shoulder, ready to bolt for it, but Hiroshi approached, one of the electric gloves he'd created sparking in preparation.

"Amon is going to save this world from people like you."

His arms occupied with carrying Bolin, Mako couldn't use bending to defend himself and Korra was too far away, but just before the man could use his glove, he jerked as he himself was electrocuted and he fell forward to reveal the tearful Asami behind him, electric glove still sparking.

"I'm sorry dad."

The lieutenant dived at her for his own sneak attack but she nimbly avoided it and spun round him, gripping the back of his neck and shocking him into unconsciousness to.

Despite the fall of the leaders, there was little time to celebrate as the remaining mechas moved in, her body having finally recovered from its shock over the course of the battle, Lin heaved herself to her feet, "Everybody move!"

They immediately responded and jumped into the hole they'd come in through. As Mako charged on ahead with Bolin, Asami swiftly aided Korra with Tenzin and the group raced on back to the surface, while Lin closed the hole behind them.

* * *

Heavy silence lay upon them as a police airship slowly made its way from the mansion.

A recovered Tenzin was speaking quietly with Lin some distance away while Mako was comforting Asami in the opposite direction. Bolin was sat somewhere in the middle, lost in thought until Korra sat beside him.

"How are you feeling?"

"Sore, those mecha things are really powerful."

Bending some water from her pouch, Korra held it over a burn he'd received on his arm when he'd been electrocuted. As she demonstrated her healing ability, she spoke quietly, "I can't believe that Hiroshi is an Equalist."

He sighed, "He had us all fooled, and now Amon as access to a whole new range of weaponry."

She patted his shoulder, "You'll stop him."

"We barely escaped that time." He pointed out, "I was knocked unconscious."

"So was Tenzin and Beifong, and they're bending masters." She smiled, "You may be the Avatar but no one expects you to be invincible."

"You know that's not true Korra."

She didn't answer because she knew he was right. People did expect him to be invincible, they heard 'Avatar' and had this image of some super-person that couldn't be beaten. However, he'd just faced Equalists for the first time, with everyone knowing he was the Avatar, and he'd lost. They'd only escaped because of Asami and if it wasn't for her, they'd be on their way to Amon right now.

Quiet footsteps interrupted and they looked up to see Tenzin slowly approaching them, the airbender spoke, "Lin has said she's going to resign her post first thing tomorrow."

Korra immediately stood up, "What, why!?"

Tenzin sighed, "Tarrlok is going to use this to destroy her reputation and have her removed from her position forcefully, she's merely doing what must be done."

He looked at the young Avatar, "Bolin, I want you to know that you held yourself magnificently in that factory."

"But I lost."

The monk nodded, "Yes, but you still held strong and your bending skill was impressive. Keep training, and I know we'll defeat Amon."

"He's right Bo."

At Mako's voice everyone looked to see him and Asami standing nearby and the older brother strode forwards, "Your firebending is really coming along and you still have all of us as back up." He stood confidently, "Though Amon has these new mecha things, this fight taught us that their weakness is lightning and we can use that."

Bolin frowned, "How."

Mako smiled, "By getting you good enough to lightningbend."

* * *

 _ **PS-So we've uncovered Hiroshi's true allegiance and they're attempting to get Bolin onto lightningbending. Please let me know what you thought and I'll probably not be updating for a while because I have a new game arriving soon that'll likely consume all my free time.**_


	5. Chapter 4

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello all and welcome to another chapter. This one marks the arrival of Tarrlok into the story and shows some of his manipulation techniques. Thank you those who've shown their support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

BOOM!

The sound of an explosion ringing throughout Air Temple Island had Tenzin rushing towards its source in a blur of red and yellow. Around him, several Air Acolytes stared about in surprise and worried mutterings could be heard as he whisked past. He came to an isolated spot of the island and found a small, smoking crater and a shocked Bolin and Mako with blackened faces and singed clothing.

"Well, that didn't quite work."

The older brother simply looked at the younger, "You think?"

"What is going on here?"

At Tenzin's worried voice, both boys looked his way, but his question was answered by Korra and Asami, who'd popped their heads out from behind some handy boulders they'd taken cover behind.

"Bolin is trying to lightningbend."

"But his first try didn't go that well."

The monk eyed the crater, "I see."

Bolin grinned ruefully, "Sorry Tenzin, we decided to practice way out here to avoid causing harm to anyone as I attempted it. I wasn't expecting it to blast a crater in the island."

Mako frowned, "Small explosions are pretty common when trying to lightningbend for the first time, however, they're not usually powerful enough to actually cause damage."

Korra had tentatively left her cover and she glanced at the crater thoughtfully, "Maybe it's because his firebending is boosted up by his 'Avatar power'."

Asami also stared at the damage, "Maybe this isn't such a good idea."

Tenzin couldn't help but agree, "You may be right." He looked to Mako, "Are you certain he's ready to attempt lightningbending?"

The teen nodded confidently, "Yes, he's learned firebending really quickly since Pema helped him out and I'm sure he'll get this too. We just need to keep working on it." He smiled, "It took me a while to generate lightning without it exploding but it'll only get better as he practices, trust me."

Eyeing the crater again, Tenzin didn't feel his concerns particularly allayed, but he decided to trust Mako's judgement, the young man had proven himself to be quite responsible and he was certain the teen wouldn't let his brother continue if he was genuinely in danger.

He sighed, "Very well, but keep the practice far from the house."

Bolin grinned, "We will."

Reluctantly, Tenzin nodded and turned around to head off and assure everyone else that there wasn't anything to worry about, that it was just the Avatar going through more training.

BOOM!

Though he wondered if the island would still be here when Bolin had finished.

* * *

Bolin was exhausted by the time they got to dinner.

He'd been attempting to lightningbend all day, but it had only resulted in explosions that had seriously wrecked where they'd been practicing. Mako had assured him that it was only to be expected, lightning generation was very difficult, and it would be a while before it could be reliably performed. Even then it could be volatile, which is why most preferred to keep it as a last resort.

They took breaks between attempts and Mako used these to teach him the art of lightning redirection, which, if anything, was more dangerous than lightning generation. His older brother had greatly emphasized the dangers of the technique and how one slip up could kill him. He'd made him promise to only use it when there was absolutely no other option and Bolin had readily agreed. Personally, he hoped he'd never be in a position he had to attempt to redirect lightning, but he vowed to practice the motions of the technique often, so it was cemented in his mind.

Dinner was lively, as it often was, but the sudden sound of an unexpected voice halted everything.

"I hope I'm not interrupting."

All eyes turned on the door to reveal an older man in traditional Water Tribe blue standing there. A brief look of annoyance crossed Tenzin's face as he stood to address the intruder, "This is my home Tarrlok. We're in the middle of dinner!"

The man simply smiled politely, "Good, because I'm absolutely famished." His smile turned to something more akin to a smirk, "Airbenders never turn away a hungry guest, am I right?"

Tenzin's eyes narrowed but he then sighed in defeat, "I suppose."

As he sat back down, Pema gave him a scowl to which he responded with raised hands and a helpless shrug while Tarrlok made his way to the space beside Bolin. As he approached, he bowed politely to the teen, "Avatar Bolin, it is truly an honour to finally meet you."

Remembering his manners, Bolin stood and also bowed, "Um, thank you. It's also nice to meet you."

As they sat, Ikki leaned across the table, asking quickfire questions, "Why do you have three ponytails? And how come you smell like a lady? You're weird."

It was obvious that the man was hiding his annoyance at her questions, but he managed a strained smile, "Well aren't you…precocious?" He redirected his attention to Bolin, "I must confess that I was hoping to have met you sooner than this, but it seems that Tenzin thinks it best to keep you out of the limelight."

Bolin shrugged, "Well, I am still in training and it was a bit of a shock when I found out I was the Avatar."

"I'm sure it was." Tarrlok smiled, "But you seem to be adjusting well, I hear that you've already mastered firebending."

The teen rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, "Well, I wouldn't say I've mastered it…"

"But I was told you demonstrated magnificent firebending ability in Hiroshi's Equalist factory, despite the difficulties of the fight."

Bolin looked down, "Well, I still lost, that just proves I have a lot to learn."

"Or you just need your skills to be honed in the correct environment." Tarrlok answered, "While I'm sure your firebending master has taught you well, the Avatar needs to know how to use their bending in genuine combat scenarios. I believe that I can supply an opportunity to do just that."

The teen frowned, "What do you mean?"

"As you no doubt know, I am leading a task force that is dedicated to stopping Amon, I was hoping you would join it."

Tenzin immediately cut in, "Tarrlok…"

The man simply smiled amicably, "Now Tenzin, I ask that you let me finish." He addressed Bolin once more, "It would be an understatement to say that having the Avatar assisting us would greatly improve morale for the city. You would also be receiving on the job training while fulfilling your Avatar duty to the city, my task force is made up of exceptionally skilled benders so I'm sure you'll learn much to improve your own bending styles."

"I can't."

Tarrlok's face morphed into one of surprise at Bolin's answer, "Really, I thought you'd be eager to assist us."

The teen looked up at him, "I still have a lot of training to do before starting on things like that. I may have learned a lot about firebending but I've not even started on air and water, never mind the spiritual side of being the Avatar. I need to focus on my training right now."

The man frowned, "I must admit, I am slightly disappointed."

Tenzin once again cut in, seeing a chance to remove his unwanted guest, "Bolin has given you his answer. I'm sure you have many other things to attend to Tarrlok."

"But of course." Tarrlok stood and smiled, "However, I should inform you that Beifong's replacement is being inducted officially tomorrow. It has already been decided that we'll take the opportunity to formally introduce the new Avatar to the city as well so you'll both be expected to be there."

Tenzin's eyes widened in shock, "What! When was this decided?"

"At the council meeting you said you could not attend today." The councilman answered, "It was a unanimous vote from the three of us. The people have been demanding a public appearance from the Avatar and we felt we could no longer put it off, especially in light of recent events." He bowed, "It has been a pleasure Avatar Bolin." He smiled smugly, "I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow."

With this he turned and strode out of the door, leaving a stunned silence behind him. Once he'd vanished, Korra exploded, "That smug, smarmy, weasel snake!"

Tenzin frowned in disapproval, "He certainly has forced things upon us."

For his part, Bolin was confused, "What just happened? Am I going to have to appear before the entire city tomorrow?"

The master airbender sighed, "Unfortunately, yes. Tarrlok has manipulated things so we don't have much choice." He looked at Bolin apologetically, "I'm sorry, I wanted to wait until you were certain you were ready."

* * *

Police officers, headed up by a woman with a semblance to Beifong, stood alongside Avatar Aang, a Water Tribe man in court, a chase through the city, Aang, his eyes aglow standing over the same man.

The images rattled through Bolin's dreams, glimpses of something he couldn't understand that flashed by without coherence but felt important, until he finally snapped awake to sit upright in bed.

He sat there, trying to recall the dream but found the details slipping away and desperately tried to keep a hold of them. He felt they were important in some way, but he couldn't work out why.

"Bolin?"

He peered through the dark to see Mako sat up in the other bed and he answered quietly, "Sorry Mako, I didn't mean to wake you."

Though he couldn't see it, he knew his older brother was frowning, "Is something wrong?"

Bolin scratched his head, "Maybe, I had this dream about Aang. It was all jumbled up and made no sense, but I can't help but feel that it's important somehow."

"Maybe you're just nervous about tomorrow." The older teen suggested, "What with suddenly being formally introduced to the city and everything. Maybe your mind is just making up weird dreams because of it."

"Maybe."

Mako yawned, "Anyway, I'm sure it's nothing. Let's just try and sleep."

"Okay."

His brother rolled onto his side and his breathing evened out as he drifted off to sleep again. Bolin followed suit, but he didn't fall straight back to sleep, instead he pondered his dream and tried to remember its details, only to find that they'd all but disappeared.

* * *

Stood beside Tenzin upon the broad steps in front of Republic City Hall, Bolin looked out nervously over the throng gathered before them.

Beifong's replacement, Saikhan, was stood at the podium, delivering his acceptance speech but the young Avatar heard little of what he said. Instead, he was slowly becoming more and more terrified of his upcoming introduction.

When he'd been Pro-Bending, he'd loved the attention and the cheers of the crowds when they'd won, he'd loved being in the spotlight alongside his teammates and greeting the fans.

But that was before he was the Avatar.

Then, he'd just been a Pro-Bender and, while well known in the sporting world, he wasn't under the scrutiny of the entire, real world. Now he was the Avatar, a one of a kind person that was an instant celebrity, whether he wanted to be or not. He'd sort of forgotten the expectations that were lain upon him, what with rarely leaving Air Temple Island and everything, but seeing the crowds (all ignoring Saikhan's speech to stare at the Avatar instead) had brought them all crashing back.

"The police department will lend any and all available resources to the councilman and his task force…" Saikhan slammed his hand down on the podium, "…until we quell this insurgency!"

As the crowds applauded the speech, Tarrlok took his position at the podium, "Thank you, Chief Saikhan. I'm sure that, with your assistance, we will indeed bring Amon to justice." He looked out over the crowds, "Of course, while both my task force and our own police department are working tirelessly to protect this city, it would be remiss of us to not acknowledge the other light that fate has granted us in these dark times. I'm sure all of you remember the events of the Pro-Bending Finals a few weeks ago and the revelation they brought us. With Amon stepping up his attacks upon our city, we believe that it is time for us to properly introduce our world's new Avatar." He gestured grandly towards Bolin, "It is my great honour to officially welcome to Republic City, Avatar Bolin!"

Amidst the applause, Tarrlok stepped aside from the podium and bowed to the teen. Bolin awkwardly bowed back and stepped up to the podium, hoping that he didn't look as scared as he felt, "Um…thank you, Councilman Tarrlok."

A journalist shot his hand in the air, "Avatar Bolin, are you intending to assist the task force in dealing with Amon?"

Bolin hesitated, thrown by the sudden question, "Well…no, not right…"

Another reporter cut across him, "But as the Avatar, isn't it your responsibility to go after Amon?"

"Well…"

Yet another dived in, "Is it true you've nearly lost your bending to Amon before? Is that why you fear to go against him now?"

Before he could answer, more piled into the interrogation.

"Avatar Bolin, do you intend to ignore this crisis?"

"What is your response to your Pro-Bending team's sponsor being an Equalist?"

"How much of a threat do you believe Amon presents?"

"How do you think Avatar Aang would've handled this?"

"Enough, please!"

At Tenzin's raised voice, the avalanche of questions halted and the airbender stepped up to the podium, "No more questions. I assure you, we are doing all we can to deal with Amon and his Equalists, I ask that you all remain calm and vigilant and report any suspicions to the proper authorities."

His piece said, he stepped down from the podium and secretly gestured Bolin to follow him. The gathered authorities began to encourage the crowds to disperse, ending the public address, as Tenzin led the teen out of sight of the crowds.

Slumping against a wall, Bolin sighed, "That really didn't go well."

"I'm sorry Bolin, I had a feeling that things would go this way, that was why I was reluctant to force you into something like this." Tenzin glowered in the direction of Tarrlok, "Unfortunately, the council saw it fit to throw this at you."

The young Avatar also looked towards the Water Tribe councilman, "He really wants me on his task force, that's why he set this up."

"Indeed, I've no doubt he's trying to trick you into working for him." Tenzin snorted, "Republic City is facing a major crisis and he's using it to further himself."

Bolin sat heavily on the ground, "So now I have to add back-stabbing politicians to my list of things I have to deal with." He placed his head in his hands, "I don't think I can do this."

Tenzin placed a gentle hand on the boy's head, "I believe you'll find a way Bolin."

* * *

 _ **PS-So, Bolin's first public Avatar appearance might not of been much of a success. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	6. Chapter 5

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello and welcome to another chapter. This one is longer than the last and pushes on a little more with the series canon. Thank you for your continued support of this story and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

Bolin tried to ignore the next day's headlines but, against his better judgement, he found his eyes wandering to them.

 **New Avatar Ignoring Equalist Threat!**

 **Avatar Fears Amon!**

 **Avatar Bolin Incompetent?**

On and on they went and while the wording and angles varied, they shared the common fact that the current Avatar was not to be relied upon. He'd only read a little, but he could already see that yesterday's press conference had been less than successful, he was either too scared, too useless or too meek to take the fight to Amon and therefore considered a terrible Avatar, something he was starting to believe.

With a sigh, he sat next to the craters his lightning-bending practice had caused. He'd told everyone else he was going to practise alone for a while, but he actually had little motivation to bend anything. He flopped onto his back and gazed upwards at the bright sky, finding little comfort in the gentle clouds, he closed his eyes.

"Bolin?"

He recognised the voice as Tenzin's and didn't bother to open his eyes, "Yeah."

Usually, it was Mako who took the role of the moody teen, but this time Bolin felt he deserved to be grouchy. Tenzin was apparently unfazed as he sat down beside him, and silence reigned.

"Why are the press so determined to make me look bad?"

The monk sighed at his question, "Because their main aim is to make money and sensational stories do just that." Bolin cracked his eyes open as the man continued, "I suppose its also because people are scared, they hear about Amon and lash out at those they can blame, unfortunately, that just happens to be you."

"But what am I supposed to do about him!? The last few times I've come up against Equalists, I've lost!" Bolin sat up in frustration, "I don't know what I'm supposed to do!"

The airbending master was quiet for a moment before speaking softly, "Bolin, I was holding off on this training until I thought you were more adjusted, but it might just help you."

The boy looked at him hopefully, "Really?"

Tenzin nodded, "I'm certain of it." He explained carefully, "As you must know, previous Avatars had not only the guidance of their teachers and allies, but also the wisdom of their past lives. My father learned a great deal from Avatar Roku and those before him." He looked at the boy curiously, "I know you haven't been aware of your identity long, but can you remember anything that might have been a message or a connection with previous Avatars?"

Bolin frowned, "Well, I've occasionally had this dream recently, I'm sure it's about Aang and something happening but I can't remember its details."

Tenzin stroked his beard thoughtfully, "I see, perhaps Aang is trying to tell you something, I doubt its coincidence that you would start dreaming about your predecessor now." He nodded decisively, "Bolin, I believe I should start teaching you how to properly meditate, perhaps doing so will help you understand what my father is trying to tell you."

* * *

"Let your mind and spirit be free, relax your body and keep your mind clear of distractions."

Tenzin spoke slowly and calmly, trying to disturb the tranquil atmosphere as little as possible.

They'd been meditating for awhile and the monk found himself impressed with the boy. Bolin had remained still excellently and had kept quiet, a far cry from the time he'd tried to teach Korra to meditate. The girl had been fidgeting the entire time, speaking every five minutes and generally getting frustrated with the whole thing. Eventually, he'd been forced to give up on the lessons but Bolin was proving to be an excellent pupil, when it came to airbending, he could well prove to be quite adept.

They stayed in silence and the minutes ticked away peacefully, until Pema spoke lightly in his ear.

"Tenzin."

He opened his eyes and looked at her in confusion, his wife rarely disturbed him when he was meditating unless it was something incredibly important. She gestured over to Bolin, "I think he's fallen asleep."

The monk looked across at his pupil and found him to still be sat in position. However, his head had dropped down and his deep breaths indicated that he had indeed drifted off and likely been asleep for quite some time.

Tenzin sighed, so much for him being a natural. He attempted to awaken the boy, "Bolin."

The young Avatar continued to slumber and the monk spoke louder, "Bolin!"

Still receiving no response, Pema shook her head and lightly tapped the boy on the nose.

"Wuh…wait…wah! I'm up, I'm up!"

The teen jumped in surprise and glanced around wildly before finally realising where he was. Noticing Tenzin's unamused expression, he grinned ruefully, "Sorry, you said I had to relax and I guess I relaxed too much."

The monk concealed his disappointment, "Do not worry about it, it takes discipline to properly meditate and this was your first attempt."

Pema continued for him, "Anyway, I think its time for some lunch."

* * *

After lunch, Bolin spent the afternoon running through firebending drills and then practising lightning-bending with Mako, which helped him forget about the newspapers.

However, that evening, Tarrlok once again appeared during dinner.

This time, the councilman's welcome was even chillier than the previous time, and while air nomad traditions didn't let Tenzin send the man away, it was made very clear his presence was not welcome. Once again sat next to Bolin, the waterbender engaged him in apparent, cordial conversation, "Avatar Bolin, I am sorry for the way the newspapers are showing you, I didn't realise the issues your public appearance would cause."

The 'yeah right' was tangible in the air but un-vocalised and somehow, Bolin managed an equally cordial answer, "I understand councilman."

The man smiled, "Of course, as someone partly responsible for this turn of events, I feel obliged to once again offer you a place on my task force."

"And once again I'll have to say no."

The man frowned, "But assisting in dealing with Equalists will certainly make the press understand that they were wrong."

Bolin shook his head, "But I'm still in training councilman, I can't do that and run with your task force. I have to focus on my training right now."

"But Amon is getting bolder by the day, we need the Avatar out there fighting him!"

Bolin stood, "My answer is still no councilman."

With that, he walked out into the night air, feeling the sudden urge to just get away from Tarrlok. He didn't know what it was, but something about the man just made him uneasy. It was clear the councilman was only concerned with furthering his agenda but there was something more that told him to stay away.

He sat at the edge of the island, where he could see the whole city, and gazed at it longingly. Right now, all he wanted was to just go back to being Bolin, Pro-Bender and member of the Fire Ferrets, no pressures, no duties, no newspapers over-examining everything he did. Unfortunately, that was never going to happen.

Someone sat beside him, and he looked round in surprise to find Korra looking at him in concern, "Are you feeling okay?"

He grinned, slightly unconvincingly, "Yeah sure, why wouldn't I be?"

She shrugged, "Because you kind of just stormed out of dinner, something you'd never do if you were fine."

He slumped, "Oh."

She shrugged, "Even so, what you said seemed to cause Tarrlok to leave, so good job." Her face became concerned, "So, what's bothering you?"

He looked up at the city again, "I just miss being Bolin, not Avatar Bolin. When I didn't have to worry about people trying to use me because of who I was, when I didn't have all this pressure."

Korra nodded understandingly then jumped to her feet, "You know what you need, a little bit of time where you're not the Avatar."

"And how am I going to manage that?"

She grinned.

* * *

If Bolin stopped to think about it, what they were doing was a very bad idea.

Sneaking off of the island and going into the city 'for some air' (as Korra put it), was hardly their brightest move, but he was enjoying himself. They didn't actually go into any shops or things in order to remain somewhat anonymous (using the dark night and poor street lighting to keep the details of their faces concealed), but Bolin loved being back in the night-time bustle of his home city.

They hadn't intended to be gone long, but several police vehicles speeding past attracted Korra's attention and she hurried off after them, pulling the young Avatar with her. It took some time, but they came to a residential area of the city which for some reason was blacked out.

Heading towards the centre of the area they came to a massive hubbub which was surrounded by police officers, clearly being led by Tarrlok. Korra muttered to herself angrily as they carefully approached the scene, Tarrlok spotted them and turned around, surprise evident in both his face and voice, "Avatar Bolin, I'm surprised to see you here."

Bolin looked past him towards the throng of people in the street, "What's going on?"

"An Equalist rally." The man answered shortly, "Though I can assure you my task force and the police have it well in hand."

Studying the crowd, the teen frowned, none of the gathered people looked like Equalists and there was no evidence of any sort of propaganda you'd expect at the rally. Also, it didn't explain why there was no power to the area. He looked back to the councilman, "But this doesn't look like a rally, and why is there no power?"

"Avatar, I assure you, everything is under control."

Anything else Tarrlok was going to say was cut over by a woman at the front of the crowd, "Avatar Bolin, please help us!"

He looked her way and she spoke quickly, "They suddenly cut the power and are trying to claim us as Equalist sympathisers just because most of us are non-benders. They're saying we're out past curfew but are refusing to turn the power back on!"

Tarrlok quickly spoke over her, "This is an Equalist rally that must be dealt with harshly Avatar."

The woman, and those about her, looked to him pleadingly, "Please, you're our Avatar as well."

Bolin looked between the two, suddenly faced with his first major decision since becoming the Avatar and feeling incredibly underprepared. His eyes slowly scanned the crowds, seeing the tense, frightened looks on the civilians and the hints of guilt in the eyes of many of the officers, and he faced Tarrlok determinedly, "These people are innocents who are just demanding back their rights, you need to turn the power back on and stop harassing them."

There was a beat of silence, in which the people and many officers looked on in hope, then Tarrlok answered, "These are Equalist sympathisers who must be taken into custody." He spoke commandingly, "Arrest them all!"

Instantly, his task force and police members moved in, they bent the metal barriers around groups of people and pulled chunks of earth up to transport them into the waiting vans. Bolin dived forwards, "No, you can't do this!"

Tarrlok barred his way, "Stay out of this Avatar, or I'll have you arrested for obstructing the course of justice!" He glared at Korra, who had a ball of water ready to attack, "You as well girl!"

She snarled but bent it back into its pouch and Bolin stopped and watched helplessly as innocents were taken away.

* * *

 _ **PS-So Tarrlok is moving more viciously with his agenda. Please let me know what you thought and I hope to update soon.**_


	7. Chapter 6

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to the next chapter. Sorry for the long wait on this one but it finally goes through the Tarrlok arc. Thank you for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

"What were you thinking!?"

Tenzin looked the closest to angry Bolin had ever seen him, and the teen winced. Korra, on the other hand, answered back.

"Bolin needed some time away from the island and we couldn't just ignore what Tarrlok was doing!"

"You recklessly took Bolin into the city, without telling anyone where you were going, while an anti-bending fanatic is running around! What's more, you publicly challenged Tarrlok, do you realise how close you were to being arrested?"

"Bolin is the _Avatar_ , Tenzin, he doesn't need protecting every second of the day!"

The argument continued, and Bolin found himself looking back on the confrontation with the councilman.

He failed again, he wasn't strong enough to stand up for the people who needed him, the people he was supposed to protect. How was he going to triumph over Amon if he backed down from one threat of being arrested?

He sighed.

But that was how he'd lived so far, he'd always had Mako protecting him and his brother dealt with most of the harsh realities of their life, keeping him sheltered. With their life came a fear of the authorities, for years, the police were the faceless bad guys who'd force them to some horrible orphanage, and he'd hidden from them when he could. Even now, he still felt wary whenever they were around and the thought of being arrested was terrifying.

But he couldn't afford to live like that now.

He had people relying on him, duties that he had to fulfil, he couldn't back down, he had to stand up and face people like Tarrlok and Amon. He couldn't keep the world balanced if he got too nervous to do anything.

Looking up towards Tenzin and Korra, he found them both still arguing, and he began slowly edging away.

He would go to Tarrlok and somehow convince him to release the people he'd arrested, the man was a council member so surely, they could discuss it reasonably. The man had to see that what he did would only strengthen Amon's argument and increase his following, there had to be a better way to fight him.

He slipped away unnoticed and ran to Republic City Hall.

* * *

Unsurprisingly for this time of night, the main entrance was locked but Bolin headed around the building, looking for another way in.

He remembered a bit of the layout from the tour he'd been given before the press conference, so he knew that some of the back doors might still be open. His sharp eyes spotted an open window upstairs and he frowned thoughtfully, maybe he could get in that way?

Normally, he'd balk slightly of breaking in like this, but he knew that if he left it until later, his resolve would disappear (or Mako would talk him out of it) so, he was better off finding Tarrlok now. Once he was inside, he could get his bearings and find Tarrlok's office, who'd certainly be still working.

Stamping his foot down and then jumping, he used an earth pillar to launch himself upwards towards the window. Going through the gap headfirst, he tucked himself in and rolled, softening the landing. He lifted his head and glanced around the room, finding Tarrlok himself and a man who was obviously an aide of some sort.

Looks like he'd found Tarrlok's office.

Standing as if he'd known that and had planned this from the start, Bolin spoke, "We need to talk."

"Avatar Bolin." Tarrlok then addressed his aide, while keeping his eyes on the teen before him, "You should finish up for the night."

The aide glanced nervously between them, "Are you sure you don't need me to sit in…?"

"No."

Getting the hint, the man slipped out of the room, leaving them alone. Wanting to speak before his nerves failed him, Bolin stepped forward, "You have to release those people."

"They were non-benders who were out past curfew."

"They're normal people who've done nothing wrong!" The teen argued, "Amon claims that benders are supressing non-benders, and what you've done only makes his argument more valid. You're using your power to threaten others!"

"And isn't that exactly what you're doing now?" Tarrlok countered, "Aren't you intending to use your status as 'Avatar' to threaten me?"

Bolin shook his head, "I'm not wanting to threaten anyone, I only want to talk this out."

The councilman sighed, as if disappointed, "And this is why I am concerned about you Bolin, you're too meek and naïve to lead others." He stood and began to pace, his tone one of a teacher, "People like Amon do not wish to 'talk things out' and can only be dealt with through extreme measures, measures I am willing to take." He turned to face the water feature behind his desk, "As the Avatar, you need to be decisive and be willing to go to some extremes in order to protect the world. I had hoped having you in my task force would help teach you such decisiveness, but you refused to join." He turned to face him, "You seem to lack the fire that your friend Korra has, perhaps she should've been the Avatar."

Bolin frowned, was he really that meek?

Tarrlok smiled as uncertainty crossed the boy's face, "However, there is still time to learn. Join my task force and I can help you gain the fire you need, perhaps I can even arrange something for those arrested this evening."

Bolin's frown became a scowl, he'd use those people as leverage to get him onto his force!? In a moment of rare anger, he snarled back, "You have no right to use them that way! There's no way Tenzin or the other councilmembers would ever stand for this!"

The councilman shook his head disappointedly, "Then you are simply in my way Avatar."

On instinct, Bolin bent up a slab of the stone floor to defend himself, just as Tarrlok bent spears of ice at him, the spears shattered upon the stone and he retaliated by punching forward, sending the slab forward, forcing the councilman to dodge to one side.

Glass shattered, and walls cracked as the two benders fought, Tarrlok was a powerful waterbender and his unusually aggressive style kept Bolin on his toes. For his part, the teen was a defter dodger than many earthbenders, thanks to his time Pro-Bending, but that was only just keeping him in the fight.

Thinking to match style with style, he switched to firebending, using kicks and punches to send jets of flames at his foe. The change caught the man off-guard, pushing Tarrlok onto the defensive and Bolin pushed his advantage by mixing earth and firebending together, however, Tarrlok's surprise didn't last long.

He began to fight back with more ferocity, causing the young Avatar to lose ground as he was forced to defensive walls and quick, less powerful attacks. Bolin was rapidly falling back, and he knew that he would lose quickly at this rate.

He couldn't afford that.

He raised his defences, weathering the assault and waiting for the perfect moment. Tarrlok was not just going to let him go after this, so he had to win and then tell Tenzin exactly what happened, that way, they might be able to end Tarrlok's hold on the city once and for all.

Suddenly, the moment came.

The waterbender overexerted one of his attacks, leaving a delay between bending motions and Bolin acted. He dropped his defensive stone slabs and moved instinctively, he hadn't been properly thinking about his attack, he just knew he had to make it powerful. Whether it was because he'd been practicing the motions so much or because of a little assistance from his past lives he didn't know, but his body moved in a perfect stance and suddenly, lightning crackled forth from his fingertips.

He felt the energy surging forth, seemingly shaking the very air in front of him, as the lightning cut through it and shot towards its target. Lightningbending was definitely not something Tarrlok was expecting, and he had no defence for the sudden, powerful attack.

While it didn't strike the councilman directly, the lightning struck down upon the floor in front of him, resulting in an explosion that threw him backwards and onto the main floor of the building.

For several, long moments, Bolin stood there, shocked that he'd actually just bent lightning and he slowly blinked before a broad grin covered his face, "I did it! Mako is going to be so proud!"

He then remembered that he was in the middle of a fight and he rushed over to look down at the main floor.

Tarrlok was laying there, temporaily incapacitated but coming around quickly, and Bolin jumped down to join him.

He cushioned his landing with earthbending, cracking the floor all around him, and stood confidently, "Its over Tarrlok! It looks like I do have some fire!"

Then, a strange, horrific sensation came over him, like everything inside him was being pushed and pulled at once. His limbs contorted grotesquely as he tried to move them, only to find something else pulling them about. He saw Tarrlok standing, his hands moving in a sinister motion and fear gripped him as he realised exactly what the man was doing.

Bloodbending.

He gasped, every word a strain to produce, "How are you doing this?"

"Tarrlok!"

A shout, followed by a rush of air announced the timely arrival of Tenzin, Tarrlok was blasted back and Bolin felt his hold over him disappear, and he collapsed weakly to the ground. Shouts and sounds of bending could be heard but they were all strangely dim as his head swam, his vision faded in and out and he thought he saw the fuzzy outline of Korra before his eyes slid shut.

He dreamed.

* * *

 _ **PS-Tarrlok revealed and Bolin finally managed to lightningbend properly. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	8. Chapter 7

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello and welcome to another chapter. Sorry for the long delay but I've been rather uninspired with writing for a while, though I've had a bit of a writing surge today. This chapter indicates the start of the big fight as Amon makes his move. Thank you all for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

"Yakone!"

Bolin sat bolt upright, almost shouting the man's name, as his dream ran clearly through his head.

Yakone had been a powerful waterbending crime lord, ruling Republic City's underworld until Avatar Aang finally managed to get him convicted. He'd attempted to escape but Aang took away his bending, ending his reign that had been built on his ability to bloodbend without a full moon.

Just like Tarrlok could.

"Bolin?"

Mako's worried voice pulled him out of his revelations, and he realised he was back in his bed on Air Temple Island, his brother hovering over him worriedly.

"Where's Tenzin?"

Mako's eyebrows shot up in surprise at his brother's question, but he still answered, "He's in the city for a council meeting. They're trying to decide what to do now that Tarrlok has attempted to attack you and revealed that he's a bloodbender."

"I need to speak with him."

Bolin made to stand but Mako tried to stop him, "Woah little bro, you've only just woken up after being bloodbended, you should take it easy."

"I feel fine Mako…"

The door slammed open, halting any further conversation, as Korra burst in wildly, "Guys, Amon has started attacking the city!"

* * *

They joined Asami in the grounds of the temple, where they could clearly see the Equalist airships above the city, engaging the ones used by the police.

One by one, the police airships were knocked out of the sky and there were likely mechs upon the streets. Korra strode forward determinedly, "We have to get over there!"

Mako tried to stop her, "Korra, think about this! We need to get Bolin away from the city!"

She rounded on him angrily, "What!? You want to just run away!?"

"We're not ready to take on all of Amon's forces!" He argued, "They'll be here soon, and we have to keep Bolin safe!"

"He's the Avatar!" She snapped, "He can handle this!"

"Enough you two!"

At Bolin's shout, they stopped their argument and stared at him in shock. He looked between them, "Look, Amon is attacking right now, if we want to protect Republic City, we have to do it now! We all know he isn't going to stop here, he wants to remove bending from the entire world, we need to make a stand, _I_ need to make a stand!"

Mako stepped forward, "But what if he takes your bending, what then? I'm not going to let you take that risk!"

"It isn't your decision!" Bolin stared down his older brother, "This is what I'm supposed to do Mako."

His older brother would've argued further, but the young Avatar turned away from him to address Korra, "Can you get us to the city quickly?"

She grinned, "Of course I can."

* * *

Travel by waterbending was both very fast, and very wet, but they reached the besieged city.

Asami had already got a Satomobile lined up for them to use days ago, and it was sat waiting for them at the docks. Diving in, they sped off towards Republic City Hall, knowing that it was Amon's prime target. A radio, tuned in to the police frequency, crackled away, informing them of the state of affairs all over the city.

Amon was moving swiftly and efficiently, taking out key points and gaining control rapidly, they used the information to take a route around the areas with mechs, readying themselves for the main fight. It had moved to the central police headquarters, and Asami swiftly changed destination, that was the heart of Republic City's defence, and the most likely place to find Tenzin and the other council members.

They skidded around a corner, seeing mechs advancing on the building as people were loaded into waiting vans.

"They've already captured them!"

At Mako's shout, Asami slammed her foot down harder on the pedal, "Not if we're quick enough!"

With reckless abandon, she powered the vehicle towards the mechs, one turned and saw them approach and she called back to the rear seats, "Bolin, give me a ramp!"

Without hesitation, Bolin stood precariously in the moving vehicle, and quickly bent a ramp up before them. Within moments, they were mounting it and, right at the last second, Asami barked out another command, "JUMP!"

They all flung themselves out of the vehicle, letting it slam into the mech and taking it out in one shot. Landing roughly, Bolin bounced and spun a bit before righting himself and scrambling to his feet. Another mech was approaching and, without hesitation, he fired a bolt of lightning right at it.

It sparked wildly and fell on its side, rendered useless by the attack, and Mako stared at him in bewilderment, "Since when did you master lightningbending!?"

"Not now Mako!"

Korra's shout brought the firebender back into the game and he moved onto another mech, Asami was heading for the vans, taking out Equalists with her electric glove, and the benders focused on the mechs.

Bending up slabs of earth, Bolin unbalanced another one and pushed it back into a second, Korra was bending water into the workings of the machines, damaging their interiors and breaking them, while Mako was using more lightning than he usually did to take them out. However, the Equalists had numbers on their side and it wasn't long before they were starting to become hard-pressed.

Then, a mighty gust of wind radiated out, throwing Equalists and mechs back and giving them a bit of breathing room.

Supported by Asami, Tenzin nodded to them, "Are you all alright?"

Bolin answered for them, "Yeah, we're fine, but we need to get out of here!"

Using a whistle, Tenzin called his bison and gestured for them to get on, "Then let's go!"

* * *

As they landed on Air Temple Island, Pema hurried to meet them, the three kids in tow.

"Tenzin!"

The airbender embraced his wife, but Lin Beifong, who'd recently been acting as a guard for the family, interrupted, "Tenzin, we need to get you and your family away from the city. You're the only airbenders the world has, so we can't afford to have you lose your bending to Amon."

"You're right Lin." He looked to the teens, "You all need to come with us, especially you Bolin. General Iroh is bringing the United Forces in to retake the city, but we must retreat for now."

"I'm sorry Tenzin, but I'm not doing that."

Everyone stared at Bolin in shock, and Lin snapped incredulously, "Don't be stupid kid, we can't let Amon get his hands on you!"

"But I can't run either!" He retorted, "I need to face him sooner or later, and he knows he has to get to me in order to achieve his true victory."

"But you can't just run off and challenge him boy!" She argued.

"I'm not!" He answered, "I'm going to wait here in the city until the United Forces arrive, then we can take on the Equalists together."

"And where are you going to hide? Amon is going to be scouring every inch of the city for you!"

"I know lots of places he won't, trust me, he won't find me."

Tenzin had remained quiet throughout the exchange, but he finally spoke, "I understand Bolin, but please be careful young Avatar."

Korra swiftly cut in, "If you're staying then I am too! I won't run, I want to be right here to see Amon get defeated."

"And you're going to need me to protect you little bro." Mako added.

"I want to see Amon go down as well, and you'll definitely need my skills." Asami finished.

Tenzin merely nodded, "Very well, but you need to all leave the island now, Amon's forces will be coming this way very soon. I need to see my family to safety."

Bolin smiled, "We understand Tenzin, don't worry. I promise we'll make Republic City free again."

The airbending master returned the smile, then gestured earnestly, "Now go, all of you!"

Needing no further urging, they hurried away, Korra bending a dome of water for them to travel secretly beneath the bay. Bolin looked back just before they fully left and saw Tenzin's bison take to the sky and flee the oncoming airships. They headed for one of the city's sewer entrances, ready to disappear into the hideaways Mako and Bolin had discovered when they lived on the streets.

Now to wait.

* * *

 _ **PS-And it begins, the war is on as Amon pushes forwards. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


End file.
